Ivy had said one thing right. Clara should never have tried to cling to something that was never hers.

This child should have been gone long ago.

The doctors looked stunned. They all knew how much Clara had suffered to keep this child alive.

Even if it had cost her life, she would never have harmed this child.

So how had she ended up deciding to terminate the pregnancy?

Clara tugged at the corner of her lips, her voice cold. "You're all his people, aren't you? Keep this quiet for now. Don't tell Ethan."

"Yes." The doctor answered respectfully, his movements growing even gentler.

It was not until the next morning that Clara was sent back to her hospital room after the surgery.

Ethan only stopped by for a brief look before saying something urgent had come up at the company and leaving in haste.

He did not notice her now-flat belly, nor the complete lack of color in her face.

With a blank expression, Clara handled the discharge procedures herself and returned to the slum apartment.

After more than ten years away, everything felt both unfamiliar and achingly familiar.

She could almost hear her mother calling to her from the kitchen, telling her dinner was ready.

But in the blink of an eye, her mother's face vanished.

She knelt before her mother's memorial photo, tears streaming down her face in no time.

"Mom, Ethan failed your trust. He betrayed me. I'm going to find that man now. I hope you won't blame me."

She took her mother's memorial photo and ashes with her, then went to an agent and sold the apartment.

This place had already been tainted. There was no reason to stay.

She had not expected to run into Ethan shortly after leaving the agency.

Ethan looked anxious as he grabbed her arm without hesitation.

"Honey, your health isn't good right now. Why are you running around like this? What if something happened? You scared me half to death. Your phone was turned off. I had to use everyone I had just to find you."

His whole body trembled as he pulled Clara into his arms, finally relaxing only after holding her.

But Clara's mind was filled with images of him entangled with Ivy, leaving her overwhelmed with nausea.

She used all her strength to shove Ethan away, unable to suppress the disgust in her eyes.

"I just wanted to go home and see my mom. I didn't want to bother you. Haven't you been busy lately?"

The distance and sharpness in her eyes were unmistakable, leaving Ethan momentarily stunned.

Clara was known to be cold and ruthless to the world, but with him, she had always been tender and affectionate.

She had never been like this before. What was wrong with her?

Ethan took a deep breath and asked patiently, "Are you upset because you're missing your mom again? She'd be heartbroken to see you this sad from up there. You're already well into your pregnancy. You'll need the stronger medication for it to improve. Let's get back to the hospital."

Clara's clothes were loose that day, and he failed to notice the child was already gone.

Or perhaps he simply did not care.

"Our wedding anniversary is coming up in a few days. Honey, how should we celebrate this time? How about I give you that ring you've always wanted? You're my one and only true love."

The moment she heard that, the wave of nausea surged through Clara's entire body.

Hadn't that so-called ring of true love already been given to Ivy as a pledge of devotion?

Unable to endure it any longer, Clara flung his hand away, stopped, and looked up at Ethan as he tried to placate her with barely restrained anger.

"Ethan, if our child couldn't be saved, if the special medicine didn't work, and I died trying to protect the baby, what would you do?"

Ethan froze. Panic flashed through his eyes before he quickly suppressed it.

Startled, he rushed forward to hold her, but Clara dodged him, leaving him gripping only her wrist.

He promised, "The medicine has already been tested. It will work. You'll be fine. The child will be fine too. To me, you're more important than anything. If I had to choose, I'd give up the child."

What touching words.

So many men would choose the child without hesitation in such a choice.

But Clara knew better. From beginning to end, this man had despised both her child and her.

He called her dirty, even though he was the one who was rotten to the core.

Not wanting to stir up more trouble, Clara found an excuse and returned to the Grayson family mansion with Ethan.

Ethan had been worried about the child, but when Clara said everything was fine, he finally relaxed.

He was likely thinking that this meant Clara no longer needed the special medicine, giving him a perfectly valid reason to give it to Ivy instead.

Seeing the easy smile at the corner of Ethan's mouth, Clara let out a mocking laugh.

Sometimes, knowing a man too well was not a good thing.

Clara turned her phone back on. Ivy had added her as a contact, and once the request was approved, photos immediately came through.

There were photos of her and Ethan traveling abroad, embracing sweetly.

There were also photos of the two of them tangled together in bed.

"Clara, you can tell these photos were taken while you were lying in bed trying to protect your pregnancy."

"Ethan and I have been together for five months now. He relentlessly pursued me, leaving me no choice but to be with him. In the end, it's your fault for not being able to keep your own man."

"He loves me, and he loves the child I'm carrying. In a relationship, the one who isn't loved is the real intruder. I've never seen myself as the other woman who destroyed a relationship."

"Ethan got tired of you a long time ago. You're older than him, and you're already dirty. He said every time he slept with you, he had to rely on medication just to get through it."

"But the moment he sees me, his eyes are full of desire. I'm the only one he loves. For me, he was willing to break his principles, the first woman he ever truly wanted."

"Whatever I want, he gives me, including your mother's old house. You must've known about us for a long time, didn't you? I never thought you'd be this shameless, still clinging to him after all this."

Message after message of provocation filled the screen, Clara's body trembling with rage.

How could someone be so utterly shameless?

Clara forced herself to calm down. Ivy wanted her to lose control, to bleed out in anger and end up dead along with the baby.

She would never let Ivy have what she wanted.

"You don't actually think he still cares about you, do you? Believe it or not, all it takes is one word from me, and he'll drop you without hesitation and come running to me."

The moment the message was sent, a call came through on Ethan's end.

"There's a fight in the west side? Useless idiots. You can't handle anything without me. I'm on my way."

He rushed over right after that, panic written all over his face.

"Honey, something serious is going down on the west side again. That place is always a mess. If I don't step in, it'll turn ugly fast. I'll go handle it and come back. Wait for me."

Without waiting for Clara's response, he hurried off.

A message from Ivy arrived almost immediately.

"Clara, it's time you faced reality. Between you and me, he'll always choose me. He's the underworld king now. Who in the whole city would dare cause trouble under his watch? He's just using it as an excuse to see me. I sent him one half-naked photo, and he couldn't wait."

Clara wiped away her tears, leaving nothing but coldness in her eyes.

Hours passed, and Ethan still hadn't returned.

Her phone kept vibrating as Ivy sent her photo after photo of the two of them in bed.

Clara let out a series of cold laughs. Ivy really didn't need to go this far.

A ruined man like that was no longer worth keeping.

"Clara, take a good look. See what you've driven him to. He really has it hard just trying to get some satisfaction."

Clara packed her things and burned everything she couldn't take with her, leaving nothing behind.

Standing at the door with her suitcase, she dialed one of her father's men.

"Send Ethan a very special gift for me."

This time, she would make Ethan understand what real pain meant.

After fooling around with Ivy all night, Ethan finally fell asleep.

Near dawn, he jolted awake, checked the time, and widened his eyes.

It was already six in the morning.

Throughout their years of marriage, he had always been by Clara's side by ten every night without fail.

If he was even a minute late, Clara would call.

But tonight, Clara hadn't called even once.

That was how it ended with him spending the entire night fooling around with Ivy, and even staying over at her place.

Unease surged through Ethan as he sat up in a panic, reaching for his phone to call Clara.

At that moment, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, hot breath brushing against his ear.

"Stay with me a little longer. You wore me out last night. You have to spend more time with me today."

She teasingly extended her index finger and traced slow circles across Ethan's chest.

"Not today. It's my wedding anniversary with Clara. I need to be with her."

Ivy curled her lips in faint displeasure, said nothing, let out a soft laugh, and slipped under the covers.

Ethan's breathing grew heavier, his eyes reddened and filled with raw desire.

He seized Ivy by the hair with one hand and bit down hard on his lower lip.

After a long while, he finally released, gasping for breath.

Ivy licked the corner of her lips, slipped a finger into her mouth, her eyes brimming with provocation.

"Are you sure you want to push me away?"

The smile at the corner of Ethan's mouth deepened as he picked up his phone and sent Clara a perfunctory message.

"I'm preparing a wedding anniversary surprise for you. I'll come see you later."

With a sharp, impatient movement, he caged her beneath his body and drove into her.

On the cabinet by the bed sat the anniversary gift he had prepared for Clara, knocked into the trash by his rough movements.

He frowned briefly, casting a fleeting glance at the gift box before sinking back into the stimulation Ivy gave him, pushing everything else from his mind.

Clara was always so understanding. She wouldn't mind him arriving late.

What he hadn't expected was how violently his desire surged this time, stripping him of reason, making him want to lose himself completely in Ivy.

He completely forgot about Clara.

Ivy nestled against him, breathing in a deliberately seductive rhythm.

Today, she had to keep Ethan here.

She had got involved with him while still so young, wasting her best years. Why should she only ever be a mistress?

She refused to be just one of the many women around Asterfall's underworld king.

She wanted to be his only one.

She wanted Ethan to openly keep her by his side, respected by everyone under him, just like Clara once was.

She refused to lose to an old woman.

While Ethan was immersed in the stimulation Ivy gave him, the unease in his chest only grew heavier.

After another four or five hours, noon was fast approaching.

He had to go home to see Clara.

He snapped back to his senses and pulled away. "Get some rest. I'm leaving."

Ivy grabbed his hand in dissatisfaction. "I just want you to stay with me today. I'm begging you."

She pouted, her eyes red-rimmed, but received not a shred of sympathy from Ethan.

Ethan shook her off irritably. "You need to know your place. No one is allowed to interfere with my wedding anniversary with Clara today."

He did not spare Ivy a single glance as he walked away.

All that remained was Ivy hurling a cup from the table, smashing it against the hospital room door in fury.

The next second, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Everything is settled now. Clara won't want you anymore. You can only be mine."

She walked over and took out the hidden pinhole camera.

She wanted to see just how much Clara could endure, whether she could still remain Mrs. Grayson after seeing all this.

At noon, traffic was at its worst. Ethan was stuck on the road, laying on the horn over and over again.

Images of Clara with her swollen belly kept flashing through his mind, guilt weighing heavily on his chest.

How could he be such a bastard?

How could he leave Clara, fragile and pregnant, alone in the mansion and walk away without a care?

He had to go back and make it right with her.

For the next while, he would have to stay by her side properly.

But the moment he pushed open the door, his entire body froze.

Everything that belonged to Clara was gone. The mansion was empty, just like his heart at that moment.

"Clara? Clara, where are you?"

He searched the rooms frantically but found no trace of Clara.

Had she gone back to the hospital on her own?

With trembling hands, he called Clara, only to find her phone already turned off.

The unease in his chest grew stronger.

He immediately called the hospital, but the person on the other end sounded confused.

"Sir, the pregnant patient in that room has already been discharged and hasn't returned."

"That's impossible. Her pregnancy was unstable. She was supposed to stay in the hospital until delivery. How could she have been discharged?"

The nurse sounded baffled. "Huh? Didn't that patient already have the abortion? The doctor advised her to stay and recover, but she insisted on leaving. There was nothing we could do."

Hearing this, Ethan instantly relaxed.

"Then I must have remembered the wrong room number. She cares deeply about her child. There's no way she would have an abortion."

He hung up at once, yet his heart began pounding violently.

As if something terrible was about to happen.

Ethan grabbed his phone to make another call, only to realize it had shut down. His hand shook uncontrollably.

He left the mansion and drove straight to the slum apartment.

He kept reassuring himself that Clara had probably gone to see her mother.

Terrified that something had happened to Clara, he pounded on the door like mad.

His mind filled with horrifying images of Clara lying in a pool of blood, the child lost.

His heart raced as fear swallowed him whole.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to kick the door down.

Thankfully, the door finally opened, and he let out a breath.

He blurted out in a rush, "I'm sorry, Clara. I'm late. You—"

When he saw the unfamiliar face before him, Ethan's expression twisted with fury.

"What are you doing in my house? Get out. Now!"

The other man was tall and burly. Hearing that, he instantly lost his temper and raised a fist.

"This is my house. If you don't leave, don't blame me for getting rough."

Ethan looked around in confusion. This was clearly the old house where Clara's mother had lived.

He spoke firmly, "This is my house. Where's Clara? I need to see her."

The man's expression softened as realization dawned on him.

Keeping his patience, he said, "Are you a friend of Clara's? She already sold the house to me. If you're looking for her, you'll have to try somewhere else."

In an instant, Ethan felt like he'd fallen into an ice abyss.

How could Clara possibly have sold the house?

Ignoring the man's protests, he forced his way inside.

As expected, Clara's mother's memorial photo and ashes were nowhere to be seen in the living room.

Hadn't she come here because she missed her mother?

Why would she sell it?

A possibility suddenly struck him, cold sweat breaking out down his back.

Had she found out?

He called Clara again and again, but her phone remained off.

At that moment, he finally realized something was terribly wrong.

He rushed outside, desperate to find Clara, only to realize he had no idea where she might go.

Clara had no family left and hardly any friends.

She had always relied on him to survive. Where else could she possibly go now?

Ethan forced himself to calm down and made a call. "Check Clara's whereabouts for me. Find out where she's gone."

The other man hesitated, clearly wanting to ask more but not daring to. He only murmured a quiet acknowledgment.

After he hung up, Ivy's personal ringtone rang.

A wave of irritation washed over him. He clicked his tongue and hung up.

But the calls kept coming, as if she wouldn't stop until he answered.

Left with no choice, he answered.

He growled impatiently, "What do you want now?"

A panicked scream came through the line, as if she'd been frightened by something. "Babe, come quickly!"

Ethan sounded annoyed. "If something's wrong, find a doctor. I'm busy."

On any other day, hearing Ivy like this, he would've rushed over without hesitation.

What he liked most was how dependent she was, clinging to him for everything.

But now, all he felt was irritation.

Ivy's terrified cries continued ringing in his ears.

"They're trying to kick me out of the hospital. They said Clara ordered it. She even had people scare me on purpose. My stomach hurts so badly…"

"What did you say?"

Ethan finally became alert. He straightened up and said, "I'll be there right away."

He started the car and sped toward the hospital, running more than a dozen red lights along the way.

The moment he pushed the door open, he demanded, "Where's Clara? Where is she?"

Ivy threw herself into his arms, pointing at the hospital staff and shouting hysterically.

"They're the ones trying to kick me out. Teach them a lesson!"

Only then did Ethan look over and see the hospital director standing at the door with dozens of security guards, their expressions cold.

The director, one of Clara's father's men, spoke arrogantly, "These are the abortion consent form and the divorce agreement sent by Miss Fulton. This hospital is Miss Fulton's property. You are not welcome here. Leave immediately. Throw them out, along with everything they brought."